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On the confluence of love for rivers, nature, and a commitment to a better world, meet Jules Domine. Jules is the one nobody talks about, but he’s the best invitation to go on an expedition. Anyone see kayaking as an economical alternative.
assets
River fiber boats, fleece jacket without quilts or neoprene. Suffice it to say, Jules has been in a swamp kayak since birth. His parents practiced under very different circumstances than today. But they were already registering their offspring in the Super 8 movie which they then watched with the kids. And very quickly Jules feels this thirst for discovery, too.
“I started kayaking at a very young age. TSo small that I don’t remember it. It’s a picture of me at the edge of a lake, with paddle in hand, ready to get on board that immortalized this moment. »
river call
Jules Domine has more than one trick up his sleeve. He cut his teeth while working foam kayaking in Grenoble, in the land of jewels, where he discovered kayaking in Grenoble Alps canoe kayak. And very quickly it does not follow the Federal line, at least not only. He discovers slalom and incline at the regional circuit and then in the French championships as a student.
But at the same time, every day he understands a little more what is meant by it. This means continuing to progress and being independent in discovering his passion. Or, go ahead and continue the path of a French competitor. He has seen his parents defy the torrents and have a hard time finding the freedom he was able to realize at a very young age. During his early years, the only perspective he had about the sport was training camps and competitions. Very quickly, he found that very restrictive.
Why would it cycle through the cells of a stopwatch, in Class 2 to respect foolish rules and constrain its lines between pegs gently swaying in sandstone to gusts of wind while one could travel freely on wild rivers?
Kayak as a tool for freedom
Therefore, he is largely thanks to his immeasurable curiosity and the help of his parents as well as the help of the “big men” of his club, as Jules gradually approaches wild rivers and plastic boats. At the age of 13, he moved to Alaska with his family, and here everything accelerated. He was already worried about being restricted by the competitive forms of his sport, and then received a slap in the face.
I understood the main advantage of kayaking. againstBeing a very efficient and entertaining mode of transportation, allowing access to unexplored areas! Imagine you’re used to getting in a van and going through gates in Saint-Pierre-de-Beauve and suddenly, kayaking means taking a small plane, going to a lake in the middle of a glacier and descending hundreds of kilometers down a river? It was a mind-boggling discovery that was forever unfathomable!
Back in France, he pursues his young but strong passion for kayaking, realizing that the goal will never be the same again. Practicing slalom and incline will still have its share of enrichment for him, especially from a technical point of view. It is his navigation and sense of obligation that will make him one of the best of his generation. Continue slalom competitions until age 16 while navigating the natural rivers of France and elsewhere as often as possible.
Whitewater Studies
At the same time, requiring timing, Jules integrates BTS management and water control. which will be important later. He acquires theoretical academic bases that will inevitably weigh heavily in the balance as he travels around the globe in front of wild rivers.
“Well, we’re not going to lie to each other, these aren’t advanced studies either. But it was interesting to see how water is managed to quickly understand a lot of things about their subjects there.”
Year after year kayaking becomes an atypical way to discover the world in these hard-to-reach corners. At the age of 18, he completed a solo Susitna Devil’s Canyon. This is the beginning of a love affair with huge rivers.
“There is something so comforting to me about being surrounded by mighty masses of water, as if in order to balance the chaos around me, my mind and body relax in complete serenity.”
rowing as a religion
In 2014 he won the prestigious North Fork Championship, considered the world’s toughest kayaking race, shortly after creating the Samana River Festival at his home in Medellin. In 2016, he made his first solo one-day descent from the Grand Canyon of the Stikine. There is no doubt that Jules is one of the best kayak makers in the world. Little by little, as he travels, he meets a small tribe made up of individuals who are just as crazy about exploration. He joins an international “family” who come together on expeditions as the opening of virgin rivers for rafting becomes commonplace.
It must be said that there are very few people you can count on for very difficult and very long expeditions, and it is a bit like a club, a community where everyone knows and helps each other.
Years of exploration led him to the four corners of the world. He scored an impressive number of first rides and it was through his expeditions that kayaking had an impact on his life on a personal level.
Today there is a lot of visible destruction. So when you’re a kayak fanatic or choose to go blind or try to do something, it’s impossible not to notice. I tell myself that kayaking is an economical alternative, and it’s a solution that can help”
rivers activist
With adventurous travels added to theoretical knowledge on topics related to water management, Jules’ commitment becomes logical and necessary. I think it made me want to commit to my love of the river and nature and turn that into something useful. Kayak can be an economical alternative » BTS, who seemed so distant and incompatible with Jules’ dreams, ended up making a comeback, as evidence. His way of life and knowledge of hydropower would henceforth become his field and weapons of activity for the protection of natural spaces and rivers.
“I’ve realized the short lifespan of all rivers. You don’t need to be a Nobel Prize winner or a preeminent specialist to understand what’s going on. When you’re a kayaker, you’re navigating this environment. Understanding that we don’t all have the same perspective is evident when you see the damage. The threat to development “Whether I choose to admit it or not is very real. I’ve seen a lot of pristine places turn into battlefields due to hydroelectric power, mining, etc. I now devote a large part of my time to land conservation and kayak projects.” and ecotourism as an economical alternative
Destination Colombia
In 2012, he decided to settle in Colombia, in Medellin….
21% from Jules Domine’s article: Kayak an economical alternative? / Continue at No. 261 on newsstands at the end of November.